Graphic design is in my blood.
I live and breathe it 24/7.
Even in the off hours from work, I can be found sitting at my computer designing something, be it a logo for a friend's new start-up company, stationery for my neighbor, hangtags for my sister's jewelry designs, on and on...
I originally went to college for an Art Education degree. Within the first semester, I realized that I was a better fit in the Graphic Design curriculum. My parents reluctantly allowed me to change majors. I, on the other hand, have never looked back.
After graduation, I stayed in my hometown of Allentown, PA, and there my involvement in publication design began with a local magazine. Within a few years, I packed up and moved to Washington, DC. My first job was with WICKHAM & ASSOCIATES and my first project was to design a book, EVERY FOUR YEARS published the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. From there, it was on to The WASHINGTON DOSSIER Magazine and SCIENCE 80 through SCIENCE 84 magazine.
It was then off to New York City, where I was Art Director of SCIENCE DIGEST magazine, a HEARST Corporation publication... all the while my wanderlust to live and work abroad was constantly bubbling to the surface.
HEARST had a division in London, NATIONAL MAGAZINES, and after lengthy visa applications, I was able to move and work there legally, first as Art Director of SHE magazine and then GOOD HOUSEKEEPING magazine. The damp and overcast weather in England got in the way of me staying there for good and I headed back to the States.
Upon my return, I discovered that new technology was all around me and I had some catching up to do. After a handful of jobs, classes and an graphics internship, I now find myself back and fully functional in the realm of InDesign, PhotoShop, Illustrator and some HTML basics.